Dare I stick my neck out...??

[WILL1E]

Well I don’t want to end up like the bird in my fridge, but wondering if I could help take the load off my wife by smoking the turkey on my new camp chef pellet smoker.

I’ve done about a half dozen smokes so far of ribs, butt and some chicken wings. But I’ve never done a whole turkey (spatchcocked one on my WSM ~10yrs ago).

Is there a go-to link for doing a good bird using a pellet smoker?
Also, if brining is necessary is there a sodium free option? The wife has Ménière’s disease so sodium is a no-no. Plus some other dishes have no sodium free alternatives so she’ll already be pushing her luck.

Appreciate the help in advance!!

 

[oldsmokerdude]

Stick your neck out!! Smoking the Thanksgiving day turkey is fairly easy; the first thing I ever smoked was a turkey for Thanksgiving.

There are plenty of "recipes" out there for using a pellet smoker with a whole turkey. Most use a brine of some sort and most all of them have salt in them. So I'm not sure about a salt-free brine.

That said, I have smoked a turkey or twelve without brining it. Just be careful not to cook it too long. Today's supermarket turkeys are bred to have juicy breasts and as long as you don't over cook, you should be okay.

 

[bregent]

Of course. You can smoke the turkey in the CC or just cook at higher temps just like an oven. The definition of a brine really is just salt in water. Salt is the only thing in a brine that really penetrates. All of the other flavors folks add to brine don't get much past the surface. Lately I haven't seen any supermarket turkeys that don't include some sort or sodium solution added. Check the nutritional info on any bird you plan to get for sodium content.

 

[browneyesvictim]

In your case I might suggest injecting vs brining. Use salt free stock or creole butter (which does not have salt in it). I would also recommend phosphate as a binder/moisture retainer but its probably too late to get your hands on that now.

 

[bregent]

In your case I might suggest injecting vs brining. Use salt free stock or creole butter (which does not have salt in it). I would also recommend phosphate as a binder/moisture retainer but its probably too late to get your hands on that now.

Yes, excellent idea! And looks like you might be able to get phosphate in time from Amazon if you order soon:
Not sure of the sodium content on this one though.

Edit: Ok forget that one - has 910 mg sodium per serving.

 

[WILL1E]

Edit: Ok forget that one - has 910 mg sodium per serving.

If i feed her that we'll have a series on Lifetime about how a guy killed his wife through a Thanksgiving meal!

I like the ideal of injecting some stock which i know i can get in sodium free.
So just inject it right before i put it on the pellet smoker?
How long and what temp do i cook at?
Is there a "sweet spot" temp wise for the bird when it's done, kinda like how pork butt has to hit 180 for the fat to break down.
Last question, if a turkey hits that magic temp ahead of schedule, can it be wrapped and put into a cooler to keep it toasty warm till it's time to eat?

 

[browneyesvictim]

There must be a million different ways, but yes, you can inject right before. As for temp, that depends on personal preferences of level of smoke that you want. With a pellet pooper, the smoke flavor will be more mild with a higher temp cook that you typically want for poultry. You could do a combination of a low smoke at first ~250-275 at first to get more smoke on it then ramp it up at the end to crisp the skin and get good color. This is what I would likely do.

For poultry, you want to get the internal temp to a minimum of 165' probed in the breast. I don't like going any higher than that, but do be prepared for some carry over. The thigh and leg can easily go 175'+ . You absolutely can and should wrap and rest.

 

[WILL1E]

I'm trying to keep it simple for me and 1 less thing for her. The amount of smoke flavor isn't critical.
I prefer to set it and forget it until my Weber igrill chimes that it's done!

I think high smoke on the Camp Chef is 200 deg right?

 

[browneyesvictim]

I don't have a Camp Chef or Pellet grill at all for that matter, so I cant answer that question, but as I recall you do have a smoke setting, and you can use that at first for an hour or two even if that is at 200'. Then kick it up in the 375' or so range to finish to internal temp. Or you can just set it to 325 from the beginning to end just as if you were cooking in an oven.

 

[chopsaw]

If you use Tony C's creole butter , it all ready has sodium phosphate in it . Inject and in the fridge over night makes a very juicy final product . Cooked to the right internal temp .

Like bregent said , check to see if the bird is all ready injected .
Good luck .

 

[gmc2003]

Here one BDSkelly did on his bull

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/bdskelly-smoked-turkey.275009/

Chris

 

[WILL1E]

Chris, thanks for the link.

So if did a high smoke at 200 deg for 2hrs and then bumped it up to 375 for the rest of the time...how do i calculate my cook time for that 16lb bird? What technique and how long do i let it rest?

We're eating at 1pm so this will likely require me to get up early and get things going.

 

[comer4tide]

You cant cook on time unfortunately, esp with the Thanksgiving turkey. Cook to temp of 165-170 on the thickest part of the breast and check it 3 times in different parts of the breast just to be safe.

But, if your wanting a guesstimate, id say 6-8 hours, shorter if you cook it hotter. I cook my birds at 325-350 start to finish. I try to not smoke turkey like i would butts or brisket. Just a taste of smoke seems to work for my crew.

Good luck and have fun!